Barack Obama should not be re-elected as president because he has not benefited this country at all. He has brought us into more debt than we were before. We need a president who is going to protect this country and make us feel safe. I do not feel protected nor safe anymore.

I thank my partner for instigating this challenge, although I am sorry that we have found disagreement here. Nevertheless, communication, all that.

I will defend the record of this president in this case. In order to remain faithful to my partners' Opening Argument, I will do so initially on the following grounds.

1. I will demonstrate that the statement that this president, "has not benefited this country at all" is demonstrably false, and therefore, cannot be used as grounds to deny him re-election.

2. That the assertion that he, "has brought us into more by Text-Enhance" href="?id=26130">debt than we were before" does not distinguish him as substantially different from most other presidents, and therefore cannot preclude his re-election - because this condition is not sufficiently abnormal.

3. That the argument that "we need a president who is going to protect this country and make us feel safe" restated: we need a president who will

a) Protect the country, andb) make us feel safe

is only half relevant. Feeling safe is less important than actually being safe. Therefore the second clause is pointless. I will argue that the military threats that America faces have diminished as a result of this president's policies. I will demonstrate how the withdrawal of American troops in Iraq freed up billions of defense dollars and tens of thousands of troops for mainline defense, and to prosecute more forcefully the war effort in Afghanistan. I will also argue that the increased levels of goodwill towards the United States within the international community has benefited us in terms of defense, as has the near-annihilation of Al Qaeda.

I anticipate that my partner will wish to add more items to this list of disqualifying factors for presidential office. However, since these are enshrined within the Opening Argument, I shall focus upon them first.